Shirley Kinge awarded $250,000 for malicious prosecution

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse judge has ordered the state to pay $250,000 to Shirley Kinge to compensate her for being wrongly prosecuted on faked evidence in the 1989 murders of a Dryden family.

Court of Claims Judge Nicholas Midey Jr. indicated he took into consideration Kinge's loss of privacy and liberty in awarding her damages.

The decision was based on a trial held before Midey in Syracuse in March.

Kinge's son, Michael, was the prime suspect in the murders of the four members of the Harris family when he was shot to death by state police in February 1990. Shirley Kinge was convicted later that year of helping him cover up the crimes by torching the Harris home.

She spent two years in prison before her conviction was overturned when it was revealed state police planted her fingerprint on a gasoline can to falsely implicate her in the crime.

Kinge, however, admitted using one of the victim's credit cards after it was given to her by her son.

At the end of testimony in March, Midey questioned Kinge's apparent lack of remorse and suggested she should consider making a contribution to charity to show she recognized the entire tragedy was touched off by her son.

Kinge's lawyer, Norman Spindelman of Fairport, declined further comment Tuesday on Midey's decision awarding damages. Spindelman said the decision itself is expected to be posted on the state Court of Claims Web site Wednesday.